UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker said he is open to fighting former UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira at 205 pounds.
Whittaker made his 200-pound debut this summer with a TKO win over Nikita Krylov at UFC 329, while Pereira now fights at heavyweight.
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But if Pereira loses to Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335, he said he will move down in weight, and if this happens, then Whittaker wants to fight him.
Robert Whittaker is interested in fighting Alex Pereira
Speaking on Submission Radio, Whittaker admitted that he would be interested in fighting Pereira in a UFC lightweight bout if the Brazilian moves down in weight.
“It would be great. I would love to get him back (at light heavyweight) – it would be fun. It would be a lot of fun. We’ll wait and see,” Whittaker said (via MMAjunkie.com).
“The layout is moving. It’s different. There are a lot of great fights coming up, and we have to see what happens with Pereira. I don’t know how Pavlovich beats Pereira. Pavlovich didn’t beat him with judgment. He had to fire him up and throw a big hand bomb.”
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Robert Whittaker Chaing 2nd UFC Title
Whittaker will be the former UFC champion at 185 pounds, and is chasing a second title in the UFC at 205 pounds. But first he needs to get past Bogdan Guskov at UFC Sydney in February to make his run up the UFC heavyweight ladder.
If Whittaker wins that fight, he’ll be in prime position to compete with someone in the weight class next season and get closer to a shot at the 205-pound title. Since Whittaker is one of the biggest names in the weight class, it could be a situation where he gets a title shot faster than others because he has such a big name and knows how to sell the fight better than most.
Everything starts to go his way and Guskov gets a huge win at UFC Sydney, preferably by finish, to really put a stamp on things.
This article was first published in GRAVIS
After the Robert Whittaker Open to Alex Pereira Fight at 205 pounds appeared for the first time in Heavyweight.